--- Angelus Novus <fuerdenkommunismus at yahoo.com> wrote:
If many Russians have a positive attitude towards Stalin's legacy, or if many Palestinians harbor anti-semitic sentiments, then of course that is worth understanding, but not supporting or justifying.
--
Seriously, the Stalin period is a VERY multifaceted one. It is very easy to make an argument that Stalin was a net benefactor to the country, this argument is often made, and it is not a stupid argument. Personally I am agnostic on the issue. Note that for a person to appraise the Stalin era as being a net positive does NOT imply endorsement of all Stalin's methods.
The opinion polls usually run something like:
Stalin was very good for the country 20% Stalin was good for the country on the whole 35% Stalin was bad for the country on the whole 20% Stalin was very bad for the country 15% I don't know/I don't care 10%
It would be interesting to see similar polls in other former Soviet republics. Georgians are famous for its idolizasion of Stalin and Beria.
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